A Simple Wizards' Duel
by MusicManiac16
Summary: What begins as a simple wizards' duel turns into a dramatic punishment for a certain Slytherin which happens to include a certain muggle girl...Genre may change. Enjoy! D
1. Chapter 1

**This takes place after the war and Voldemort's end, when all the students go back to Hogwarts and redo their former year. Harry and the gang are in their 'seventh' year and McGonnagal is headmistress. And it's based on a personal experience of mine….any questions about the REAL story, just ask. =D Enjoy!**

Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter sent spell after spell at each other, dodging and shielding themselves until they could no longer move. They'd both been injured, but that was common in a wizard's duel. Exhaustion took over both of them. Panting, they motioned to their seconds to either take over or declare a truce. Goyle and Ron looked at each other uneasily and nodded in unison.

"Truce."

Appreciative applause and murmurs ensued from both sides of the Great Hall. Malfoy and Harry tended to have pretty clashing fanbases, but both sides knew that if the duel between the two wizards continued, death for one of them would be the only possible ending result. Harry turned from his foe and promptly limped to the chair waiting for him. But suddenly, he felt his legs twist together and saw Ron's shocked and angry face just before he fell flat on his face.

"MALFOY! BAD FORM!" Ron screamed, his face now matching his hair. Boos erupted from both sides of the hall, with only a couple snickers thrown in from the Slytherin side. Even Goyle looked a bit shocked (as shocked as his fat face's limited expressions would allow him). But Malfoy, who had cast a curse on Harry after declaring the end of the match, simply had his trademark smirk splashed across his face.

Harry stared dumbfounded at the floor, wondering when someone was going to get him up, when he felt his legs free up from the Leg Locking curse. He was helped up by Ron, who was now purple-faced.

Hermione bounded over to the duo, brandishing her wand. She was obviously the one who had lifted the spell on Harry. Her eyes were wide with worry. "Harry, are you all right? That was a totally and completely illegal move on Malfoy's part…he's bound to be punished. McGonnagal must be furious!" Sure enough, when they looked over at their Headmistress, her anger was obvious from her brisk walk (almost a run) over to Malfoy, her face tight and red. The shouts of anger and shock became louder as she approached the front of the Hall. As Harry brushed himself off and Hermione began fixing up his wounds, McGonnagal placed her wand at her throat and spoke.

"_SILENCE!_" The room instantly went quiet. She removed her wand and glowered at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, you know the rules of a wizard duel, and attacking after a truce has been called is a deliberate violation of those rules!"

Malfoy just smirked. "Yes, well, he deserved it. What with his only friends being a Mudblood and a traitor." The Slytherins snickered.

"Mr. Malfoy!" McGonnagal's face turned a darker shade of red. "I would ask you NOT to use that word at all, much less in front of me!"

"I'll use it whenever I like, thanks."

Hermione stood up angrily and walked angrily to the other end of the Hall. "Malfoy, what is your PROBLEM?! Just because you were a Death Eater doesn't mean you're invincible or remotely important!" She shoved Malfoy's shoulders, at which a look of indignation appeared on his face, and an equally strong look of shock emerged on hers. Shouts came from all over the room, some in anger, but most in support.

McGonnagal cleared her throat. "Well, it is obvious that Mr. Malfoy deserves some sort of punishment."

"Make him lick the floor!" a Hufflepuff shouted.

"Don't do anything, Potter deserved it!" obviously from a Slytherin.

"Put a hex on him!" from a Ravenclaw.

"Yeah, let Harry curse him back!" Neville Longbottom agreed.

"Kill him!" from Colin Creevey.

"No, kill Potter!" Goyle put in his imaginative contribution. As the shouts died down, one voice stood out as a lone Slytherin made his way to the front of the Hall.

"How about making him kiss a Mudblood?" Blaise Zabini stood with his arms folded, a smirk rivaling Malfoy's as his expression. "Make him kiss…" his eyes searched the Hall until they landed on the girl standing closest to Malfoy. His eyes shone evilly. "Hermione Granger."

Malfoy did the impossible by going a whole shade paler. "Zabini…" he muttered under his breath.

"What, Malfoy?" Zabini chuckled. "You deserve it."

**There will be more chapters soon, I promise! So stay tuned…hope you enjoyed it so far! And I'd love reviews from y'all. =D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hurray! I finally updated! Sorry it's taken so long….college applications are KILLING my brain. This chapter's short, but I'm already writing the next one, so it shouldn't be too long until the next update. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

"_How about making him kiss a Mudblood?" Blaise Zabini stood with his arms folded, a smirk rivaling Malfoy's as his expression. "Make him kiss…" his eyes searched the Hall until they landed on the girl standing closest to Malfoy. His eyes shone evilly. "Hermione Granger."_

_Malfoy did the impossible by going a whole shade paler. "Zabini…" he muttered under his breath. _

"_What, Malfoy?" Zabini chuckled. "You deserve it."_

Meanwhile, Hermione had fainted directly at the blonde Slytherin's feet. Malfoy glanced down at the pretty brunette and uncharacteristically bit his lip.

Harry glanced at Ron and saw that his face, which had faded to a light pink when McGonnagal began speaking, had returned to its former purplish hue that clashed horribly with his hair. Although Ron and Hermione had decided not to continue their relationship at the beginning of the school year, deeming it too awkward for both of them, they still cared about each other deeply. Harry reflected on this as McGonnagal knelt and revived Hermione, who, at the sight of Malfoy standing a mere foot from her, let out a soft, "Oh!" and fainted again. Malfoy rolled his eyes. McGonnagal woke Hermione up a second time and turned her away from Draco so as not to cause her to faint again.

Zabini sauntered to where Malfoy had stood for the last few minutes, where he for once didn't wear his typical smirk. "You _did_ hex him illegally…and it's just one little kiss. What's the problem?"

"You know good and well what the problem is, Blaise," Malfoy muttered under his breath. He only used his friend's first name when he was seriously concerned about something, and that was not very often. "I'm supposed to be dating Pansy, remember?"

"Well, A, you don't like her. And B, she's not here, Draco," Blaise said seriously, continuing the untraditional use of Malfoy's first name. "And I also know that Hermione's not exactly a girl that Pansy would expect you to care for. Just be glad I didn't suggest some girl in Slytherin who's head over heels for you."

Malfoy sighed. "If I kiss her, Blaise…"

Blaise sighed mockingly, then chuckled when Malfoy glared at him. His face turned serious again as he stated, "If you kiss her, it might just be the best thing for you. You never know."

Their conversation was interrupted by their headmistress announcing that she would be leaving the Great Hall. "I know," McGonnagal said calmly with her wand to her throat, "that you can settle this without me. I believe that you will be able to create a compromise that will resolve this problem. You are all adults now and should be able to act as such." With that, the headmistress walked briskly out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a bunch of angry Slytherins and Gryffindors, a complacent Harry Potter, a purple Ron Weasley, a hyperventilating Hermione Granger, a serious Blaise Zabini and a very, very confused Draco Malfoy.

**Thanks for reading! Review please! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

_Their conversation was interrupted by their headmistress announcing that she would be leaving the Great Hall. "I know," McGonnagal said calmly with her wand to her throat, "that you can settle this without me. I believe that you will be able to create a compromise that will resolve this problem. You are all adults now and should be able to act as such." With that, the headmistress walked briskly out of the Great Hall, leaving behind a bunch of angry Slytherins and Gryffindors, a complacent Harry Potter, a purple Ron Weasley, a hyperventilating Hermione Granger, a serious Blaise Zabini and a very, very confused Draco Malfoy._

Blaise Zabini had been an acquaintance of Draco's since they'd started at Hogwarts. But after the battle last year, when Crabbe had been killed in the Room of Requirement, he'd been the one other person besides Goyle who understood him. Watching his friend turn right back into the haughty and secretly insecure kid he'd been a year before had been harder on Blaise than anyone. He'd seen the real Draco Malfoy in those few months after Voldemort had been killed. The real Draco Malfoy didn't care about being a pure blood. The real Draco Malfoy wished he'd been in Gryffindor, so he could have an excuse for being a good person. The real Draco Malfoy cried himself to sleep for months after the battle, after losing one of his best friends and thinking he'd never be allowed to finish at Hogwarts.

The real Draco Malfoy was scared.

Scared that he'd never be allowed a normal life because of his past relationships with Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Scared that the mark on his arm would never go away. Scared, especially, that no one besides his mother would ever love him.

And so Blaise Zabini saw the transformation of Draco Malfoy. From a stupid, insolent child, to a frightened-into-submission Death Eater, to an insecure and scared teenager, and now, to a stupid and insolent man. He was tired of it.

"So." The word tore everyone from the trance-like state they'd been in since McGonnagal had left the room and turned towards Blaise. "Anyone have a better idea than mine?"

Draco stared at Zabini and leaned towards him. "What the hell," he hissed, "are you doing?"

Zabini smirked and whispered, "I'm saving your arse, Malfoy. This isn't who you are, and you know it. You need this."

"_What?_" Draco screamed at a whisper. "I don't need to go kissing some filthy Mud-"

"Stop it right there Draco. I know you hate that word. You only use it to sound powerful, and you know good and well I don't need to hear it." Blaise grabbed Malfoy by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "I know you, Draco Malfoy, and I know that you need to do something to get these people to forgive you. They've accepted you back at this school you never thought you'd be allowed back to. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley stuck up for you when everyone kept calling you a Death Eater and avoiding you. They might not be your friends, Draco, but they're the closest things besides me and Goyle that you've got. And you just ruined your relationship with both of them, just because you felt like going on a power trip? Seriously, Draco, you need to do something. And Hermione…" Blaise felt Draco stiffen in his grasp. "Well Hermione…she's special isn't she?" Draco wrenched away from him.

"Shut up."

Meanwhile, the Great Hall had gone into an uproar again. Students were whispering excitedly among themselves, wondering what Malfoy would have to do, shocked that McGonnagal had just walked out on them. Neville Longbottom had been cornered by an admiring fourth year Slytherin, who had heard about his involvement in ridding the world of Voldemort, and was flirting ferociously with him. Harry and Ron were discussing feverishly if Draco had been faking all along, wondering if he really was a supporter of Voldemort. And Hermione Granger was still on the floor, wondering what in the world was going on around her.

"FINE!" Draco had pointed his wand to his throat so his voice could be heard.

The hall went quiet.

"I'll kiss the freaking Mud-…Muggle."

The other students were shocked. Many sat with their mouths open, one first year girl actually screamed, and the older students looked grim. Hermione buried her face in her hands. Harry and Ron's eyes got even wider. Zabini grinned. "Alright then. Let's see it."

"Hold on a minute, there!" Harry stood up angrily. "You can't just volunteer Hermione for this! She didn't do anything!"

"Yeah!" Ron shouted. "She…yeah, she didn't do anything!" His face went pink. "She doesn't even like him!"

Zabini started to reply, but Malfoy touched his shoulder to stop him and turned towards the pair of Gryffindors with guilt in his eyes. "Look, if it takes this to say I'm sorry, then I'll do it." He stepped closer. "I know we're not friends, but I really want to put all of the junk that happened before behind us. And I can't do that if I'm still insulting your friends and being a downright arse. So…" He looked down and realized he was almost standing on Hermione. She looked up at him with frightened tears in her eyes. He offered her his hand, and she took it. Finally standing, Hermione looked at Harry and Ron. Draco leaned towards her, and she stiffened and squeezed her eyes shut. To her surprise, he whispered in her ear: "You don't have to, you know. Harry and Ron are right. Just say the word, and I'll figure something else out." Hermione's eyes popped open just as he was pulling away. The Great Hall was completely silent. All eyes were on Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, the brilliant witch and wizard, one Muggle, one pureblood.

Draco's eyes met hers, and to his shock, he saw, not anger, not fear, and not disgust. He saw…was it really…?

Hermione leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "I know."

And with that, Draco tucked her hair behind her ear, closed his eyes, and kissed Hermione Granger.

And she kissed him back.

**Very unsatisfying ending, I know. I just wanted to finish it. Let me know if you have any better ideas and I'll try to revise it…**


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